Donaldson
4,140 feet | ranked 33/46 in height | 30th peak climbed
4,040 feet | ranked 40/46 in height | 31st peak climbed
Erwin and Frankie are off in South Carolina visiting my mother-in-law; we've decided to make these single parent trips to visit with grandparents an annual tradition, with me taking Frankie camping at Memorial Day weekend to see Mary and Keith, and Erwin taking Frankie to play in the ocean in August to see Ellen. It just works so well for everyone: Frankie gets more time with his faraway grandparents, I don't use up precious vacation time, the boys get to enjoy more beach time then I could handle, and I get the chance to sneak off to the Adirondacks. I worked Wednesday, so I would have Friday off, and drove up to Tupper Lake last night, setting up camp in the dark in one of the primitive sites along Corey's Road.
I meant to get a super early start to the hike, but I was moving inexplicably slowly and was not able to achieve that goal. I had overnight oats in the cooler, with sliced almonds and fresh berries, a breakfast I frequently pack to bring to work. I've never tried to eat it fast though, and I failed miserably at that task. Then packing my day pack seemed to take forever, too. By the time I got to the trailhead, it was 7 am. A car raced up behind me on Coreys Road, arriving at the same time; it was another solo hiker. I sat in the trunk lacing up my boots and was then ready to go, but got sucked into a stop-and-chat. Kate was hiking Seymour, and asked if we could hike partway in together. Of course I agreed, so waited a few more minutes waiting for her to be ready, feeling quite itchy to be moving. Finally, by 7:10 am, we'd signed the register and were off.
I needn't have fretted about the delay. Kate is fast! We chatted amiably and the 1.4 miles to the split just flew by. There is no way I would have made it to the junction by the gate in 34 minutes if I wasn't trying to keep up with this amazing woman. We said our goodbyes and parted ways, and almost immediately I slowed down and got a drink. Then I kept motoring.
After another 45 minutes, I arrived at the bucket cairn marking the start of the Calkins Brook herd path. I was taking very few pictures, in part because I was running MapMyHike and it was a bit depressing to turn on the phone to take a picture and see how little ground I had covered. [I had left the SLR behind because of the impending rain.]
The Calkins Brook herd path has mild grades at first, meandering gently through a lovely forest near the brook. It has been a pretty dry year, so the crossing was an easy rock hop. There are several campsite near the creek that appear to be illegal, but all were unoccupied.
The trail eventually gets steeper and more gnarly. It is about 3 miles on this herd path to the ridge cairn, but it felt longer. This section took me a full three hours.
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| large-leaved goldenrod (Solidago macrophylla) |
I was so happy to reach the ridge! I could see glimpses of Seward through gaps in the trees, but turned right toward Donaldson. I had read it was quite close by, perhaps 10 more minutes, and I was ready for lunch and a rest.
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| ridge cairn -- left to Seward, right to Donaldson |
Somehow I managed to get turned around, though, following a muddy path out to a different ledge with a view that I initially mistook for the summit. I took off my pack before I remembered that all the peaks in the Seward Range have summit signs; since there were none on that ledge, I was clearly in the wrong spot. Back in the woods. The actual summit is essentially right on the main ridge trail, and there is no need to follow a narrow scratchy path to get there -- just climb up on a boulder.
Right after I snapped that view of the partially obscured ridge, the clouds immediately lowered, washing over the summit and it started to rain softly. I ate my sandwich, and once I cooled off slightly, pulled on my Seattle sombrero so I could keep my glasses clear and functional.
Then I set off for Emmons. I kept the hat on initially, but overheated almost immediately, and had to take it back off even though it was still raining. The humidity was insane, and I had been sweating rivers all day. I couldn't wear any of the rain gear I was schlepping; it was just too hot and muggy.
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| trail to Emmons |
The trail to Emmons goes into a deeper col than I had expected, and seems to veer off the ridge somewhat. It took me about an hour to get from Donaldson to Emmons. The summit is very small, just a tiny clear spot on top of a boulder surrounded by trees. I was in a cloud, so didn't have the best conditions to appreciate views, but it didn't appear there would be much to see here even on a clear day.
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| the summit is atop this boulder (far right) |
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| knight's plume (Ptilium crista-castrensis) |
Again, the Calkins Brook herd path seemed longer than 3 miles. It felt like I wasn't moving any faster than I did ascending, and on the upper part of the trail, that was probably true. I took a fall at one point -- on a flat sandy spot, so I was totally unharmed, just a little extra muddy and mad at myself. The fall was precipitated by my losing focus for a tiny, fleeting second: my ankle rolled outward (no big deal, walk it off, walk it off) and two steps later, sweat ran into my eye, burning ferociously. Bam! I was down like a felled log. No harm done, but not my finest moment, to be sure. These trails demand constant vigilance. I finally made it back to the bucket cairn; I think the descent ended up taking about 2 hours.
From here, it was an "easy" 3.5 miles back to the car. The only real obstacle remaining was a perhaps one mile long uphill section on the truck trail. It's not steep, but 12 or 13 miles in, a seemingly never-ending climb up a road is not all that exciting. It would have been bad enough if it was gravel-surfaced, but these loose rolling cobbles are just killer.
Despite this last mental hurdle, I really hauled ass in this section, covering the 3.5 miles in about an hour, much quicker than I had on the way in this morning. I was definitely warmed up. I had an error in the tracker, so don't have exact statistics, but I estimate the round trip distance at about 15 miles with over well over 3,000 feet elevation gain. Not a bad little walk in the woods! Saving Seward for another day was the right choice for me on this solo venture, allowing me to enjoy more time on the summit of Donaldson and the security of knowing I'd arrive back in daylight. Despite the rain, I had a terrific time and was very pleased with my outing. I will be back for Seward another day, hopefully one with blue skies.
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